Hulk-A-Rella Green Smoothie

Ok before you go any further in this post. 

STOP and remove any doubt you may have about this smoothie.

Go in with an open mind.

Trust me.

This really tastes good plus it's so good for you too.

And if you have low iron like I do this will be perfect for you!

I will admit I have never been one who swoons over smoothies.

However, some people, including my kids love them.

While I must have missed that train long long ago.

So with that being said you can see why all the Pinterest posts about smoothies and infomercials about drinking your fruits and veggies have never, ever been appealing to me.

Plus, I always thought you were consuming a ton of calories in one drink.

{which in many cases are you are}

but when you make them at home you know exactly what goes into them and you can control the flavors, cost and the calories!

And this smoothie weighs in at just

125 Calories for a really tall glass.

 

Let me give some credit where it's due because I didn't just wake up one day and say

"Hey! I'm going to drink some spinach!"

actually

My cousin Tracy told me the last time we spoke that she has been drinking green smoothies 

and making them at home at a fraction of the cost you would pay at a smoothie bar.

So I asked that famous question I'm sure everyone hears when they share they are drinking 

Green Smoothies...

What do they taste like?

I had braced myself to hear...

"You know how the lawn smells after you cut the grass?

Well that's kind of what they taste like." :)

I can't help but laugh at that comment but that is honestly what I thought of when 

I thought about drinking one of these.

Shockingly to my surprise her response was ...

They taste really really good. 

 So on the heals of that conversation I decided to give them a try.

 And here I am today sharing with you what I used and what I've found I like.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FIRST

I don't have a fancy shmancy blender. I have an older Oster blender that I bought more because it was black and matched my kitchen than for all the features it had. 

But it's a basic blender with that big line of buttons that has two functions for low and high.

 So it's by no means a top of the line but you really don't even need that.

SECOND

The second bit of advice my cousin gave me, which was awesome, was to cut up the fruit and freeze it and then you can just grab and go with it.

 And wouldn't ya know the next week Publix had a sale on Blueberries!

1.99 for a pint! So I grabbed a couple and froze them right away.

Then I had some bananas that were starting to freckle and rather than let them tan any longer under my counter top lighting I peeled, sliced and froze those too! 

THIRD

Don't chug it. Drink it slowly and let your body drink in the nutrients this lovely little green monster contains.

So here is where I started and what I started with.

2 Cups Spinach - 1/2 Cup Frozen Bananas - 1/4 Cup Frozen Blueberries

1-1/4 Cup of Water with Ice

I added the water and ice to the blender

 then 

added the spinach.

YES its about a handful.

Turned on the blender and let it whip up the greens. 

It quickly turned into a bright green slushy after a few seconds.

Then I added approximately 1/2 to 3/4 of a frozen banana

and a handful of blueberries to the mix about 1/4 of a cup.

Turned it back on and let it whip.

In the beginning the smoothie was so thick that I did have to add a little more water to it and stir it by hand but once all the bananas and blueberries were mixed perfectly the smoothie began to whip continuously.

At this point I just let it go for about a minute longer and you are done!

Pretty easy, hu?

Then pour into a glass and enjoy! 

Oddly it doesn't taste of spinach at all.

It doesn't taste like fresh cut grass either. 

Thank God.

But what it does taste like is a very cold drink with the slightest hint of banana and blueberries

 and I love it!

Honestly, it took my cousin telling me to try this for me to give it a whirl.

{no pun intended}

and I'm so glad I did and hope you will too.

Trust me if this girl can drink and love it you will too

and I haven't even tried other lovely fruits like

Strawberries, Mango, Peaches or Raspberries yet.

 and I say yet because I will go there.

Thank you so much Tracy for telling me about these and encouraging me to try them.

You have the best ideas. :) 

I look forward to sharing more smoothie options in upcoming posts!

Now go build some muscle!